Jay Blades: The Midlands Through Time; The Fall of the House of Usher; Mrs Sidhu Investigates

“The Midlands may not be Bali, but Blades certainly made it jolly. Yes, it felt a bit random and thrown together, but there was just enough connecting tissue to make the storytelling cohere. This was about the love of learning, executed with a joyous rawness, and it was surprisingly effective.”
Ben Dowell, The Times

“His enthusiasm leapt through the screen, and it’s clear that he genuinely cares about the region and its residents. The history is basic stuff, but as an opportunity to celebrate a region often unfairly maligned on British television, it made for a charming enough way to pass an hour.”
Poppie Platt, The Telegraph

“Thankfully, Mike Flanagan and Edgar Allan Poe’s sensibilities prove a winning pairing, staying on the edge of terror without cascading into jump scares and sentimentality. Guilt permeates every frame of Flanagan’s Poe universe, and buys into not so much the horror as the terror. The feeling that something awful is imminent makes for an engaging watch.”
Leila Latif, The Guardian

“You have to applaud the chutzpah. Unfortunately, The Fall of the House of Usher strains under the dead weight of Flanagan’s ambitions. Poe is the acknowledged father of modern horror. But The Fall of the House of Usher displays a surface-level appreciation for the writer. His genius is ultimately sacrificed on the altar of the Flanagan’s desire to give us a spooky Succession.”
Ed Power, The Telegraph

“Mrs Sidhu Investigates is even better than its radio fans could hope. The regular cast is strong, the characters are nuanced and the production values are high. This is no throwaway slot-filler made for pocket change. The action unfolds quickly, building to a satisfying denouement, with plenty of clues to tease mystery lovers and some clever telly in-jokes to boot.”
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail